Paging based on individual user mobility patterns

ABSTRACT

In one example, the present disclosure describes a device, computer-readable medium, and method for paging a user endpoint device based on the mobility patterns of the individual user associated with the user endpoint device. For instance, in one example, a method includes determining a paging zone for a user endpoint device. The paging zone includes a first base station to page the user endpoint device, where the first base station is included in the paging zone based at least in part on a historical mobility pattern of the user endpoint device and on present network conditions around the user endpoint device. An instruction is sent to the first base station. The instruction instructs the first base station to send a paging request message to the user endpoint device.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/492,331, filed Apr. 20, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,070,412, which isherein incorporated in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless networking, andrelates more particularly to devices, non-transitory computer-readablemedia, and methods for optimizing network paging performance.

BACKGROUND

In the mobility context, paging refers to the delivery of a message to auser endpoint device that is connected to the network. Paging may beinitiated to alert the user endpoint device to one or more events. Forinstance, a paging message can be initiated in the core network to alertthe user endpoint device to an incoming call, short messaging service(SMS) message, email message, or data session from the circuit-switched(CS) or the packet-switched (PS) domain.

In some examples (e.g., in 3^(rd) Generation or 3G networks), a pagingmessage can also be initiated in the Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsService (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) to alert theuser endpoint device to a change in the broadcast control channel(BCCH), a release the radio resource control (RRC) connection, or anupdate to an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS).

SUMMARY

In one example, the present disclosure describes a device,computer-readable medium, and method for paging a user endpoint devicebased on the mobility patterns of the individual user associated withthe user endpoint device. For instance, in one example, a methodincludes determining a paging zone for a user endpoint device. Thepaging zone includes a first base station to page the user endpointdevice, where the first base station is included in the paging zonebased at least in part on a historical mobility pattern of the userendpoint device and on present network conditions around the userendpoint device. An instruction is sent to the first base station. Theinstruction instructs the first base station to send a paging requestmessage to the user endpoint device.

In another example, a device includes a processor and acomputer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operationsinclude determining a paging zone for a user endpoint device, whereinthe paging zone includes a first base station to page the user endpointdevice, and wherein the first base station is included in the pagingzone based at least in part on a historical mobility pattern of the userendpoint device and on present network conditions around the userendpoint device, and sending an instruction to the first base station,wherein the instruction instructs the first base station to send apaging request message to the user endpoint device.

In another example, and apparatus includes a processor and an outputdevice. The processor determines a paging zone for a user endpointdevice. The paging zone includes a first base station to page the userendpoint device, where the first base station is included in the pagingzone based at least in part on a historical mobility pattern of the userendpoint device and on present network conditions around the userendpoint device. The output device sends an instruction to the firstbase station, wherein the instruction instructs the first base stationto send a paging request message to the user endpoint device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network related to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a first example method for paging auser endpoint device based on the mobility patterns of the individualuser associated with the user endpoint device;

FIG. 3A illustrates an instruction being sent to all base stations in apaging zone of a user endpoint device;

FIG. 3B illustrates an instruction being sent to all base stations in atracking area of the user endpoint device of FIG. 3A; and

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing devicespecifically programmed to perform the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one example, the present disclosure provides a means for paging auser endpoint device based on the mobility patterns of the individualuser associated with the user endpoint device. As discussed above,paging may be initiated in a mobility network to alert the user endpointdevice to an incoming call or SMS message. When a call or data serviceis targeted to a particular user or user endpoint device, the mobilitynetwork needs to locate the user in a timely manner to ensure that theuser's experience is satisfactory (e.g., accessibility is high, droppedcalls are minimized, etc.).

However, because user endpoint devices spend much of their time in idlemode to preserve battery life, it can be difficult and inefficient toidentify the base station that is serving the user endpoint device whenthe user endpoint device is to be paged. For instance, although trackingarea (TA)-based paging methodologies are generally successful inlocating a targeted user endpoint device, they may have to send manymessages to many base stations before the targeted user endpoint deviceis located. This increases the overall paging load on the base stations.Even other methodologies that seek to minimize the overall paging loadmay need to send messages to many base stations, because they tend tofocus on some number of last-known base stations that served thetargeted user endpoint device, when the targeted user endpoint devicemay no longer be anywhere near their service areas.

Examples of the present disclosure generate a paging zone for a userendpoint device based on the user's historical, individual mobilitypatterns (e.g., repeating, observed patterns of behavior, as opposed toisolated mobility events such as simply the last-known location) and onpresent network conditions around the user endpoint device operated bythe user (e.g., observed present network radio frequency, networktraffic, and network mobility conditions in a geographic area within adefined radius of the user endpoint device). The paging zone representsan area in which the targeted user endpoint device is expected to be ata given time. By focusing on where the targeted user endpoint device isexpected to be at the given time, rather than where it last was, thebase station(s) to be paged can be selected in a less arbitrary manner.This minimizes the overall paging load on the base stations and improvespaging accuracy, which, in turn, improves the user experience.

Within the context of the present disclosure, a “tracking area” isunderstood to refer to a geographical coverage area served by apredefined set of base stations. The tracking area that a given basestation i resides in is referred to herein as “TA(i).” “TA_list(i),” asused herein, refers to an expanded tracking areas comprising thetracking area Ta(i) and its neighboring (e.g., immediately adjacent)tracking areas.

To better understand the present disclosure, FIG. 1 illustrates anexample network, or system 100 suitable for implementing embodiments ofthe present disclosure for paging a user endpoint device. In oneexample, the system 100 comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network101, an IP network 113, and a core network 115, e.g., an IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) core network. In one example, system 100 is provided andoperated by a single network operator or network service provider. FIG.1 also illustrates various user endpoint devices, e.g., LTE userendpoint devices 116 and 117. The user mobile endpoint devices 116 and117 may each comprise a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tabletcomputing device, a laptop computer, a pair of computing glasses, awireless enabled wristwatch, or any other cellular-capable mobiletelephony, a device deployed in a vehicle, and computing device(broadly, “mobile endpoint devices”). In another embodiment, the userendpoint devices 116 and 117 may be stationary devices, e.g., set topboxes, home gateways, security panels at a premises, home appliances,Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and the like. For the purposes ofproviding illustrated examples, endpoint devices 116 and 117 will bedeemed to be mobile devices in various examples discussed below, but itshould be noted that endpoint devices 116 and 117 can be both mobiledevices and/or stationary devices.

In one embodiment, each of the user mobile endpoint devices is capableof executing one or more mobile software applications, e.g., softwareapplications for transmitting and/or receiving multimedia content,gaming, shopping, surfing the web, sending and receiving data, sendingand receiving messages such as emails and text messages, implementingcall sessions such as voice over IP calls, video conferencing, and thelike.

In one example, the LTE network 101 comprises an access network 103 anda core network 105. In one example, the access network 103 comprises anevolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN). The eUTRANsare the air interfaces of the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) LTE specifications for mobile networks. In one example, the corenetwork 105 comprises an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. An EPCnetwork provides various functions that support wireless services in theLTE environment. In one example, an EPC network is an Internet Protocol(IP) packet core network that supports both real-time and non-real-timeservice delivery across a LTE network, e.g., as specified by the 3GPPstandards. In one example, all eNodeBs (e.g., base stations) in theaccess network 103 are in communication with the EPC network 105. Inoperation, LTE user equipment or user endpoints (UE) 116 may accesswireless services via the eNodeB 111 and the LTE UE 117 may accesswireless services via the eNodeB 112 located in the access network 103.It should be noted that any number of eNodeBs can be deployed in aneUTRAN. In one illustrative example, the access network 103 may compriseone or more eNodeBs.

In EPC network 105, network devices Mobility Management Entity (MME) 107and Serving Gateway (SGW) 108 support various functions as part of theLTE network 101. For example, MME 107 is the control node for the LTEaccess-network. In one embodiment, it is responsible for UE (UserEquipment) tracking and paging (e.g., such as retransmissions), beareractivation and deactivation process, selection of the SGW, andauthentication of a user. In one embodiment, SGW 108 routes and forwardsuser data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the userplane during inter-eNodeB handovers and as the anchor for mobilitybetween LTE and other wireless technologies, such as 2G and 3G wirelessnetworks.

In addition, EPC (common backbone) network 105 may comprise a HomeSubscriber Server (HSS) 109 that contains subscription-relatedinformation (e.g., subscriber profiles), performs authentication andauthorization of a wireless service user, and provides information aboutthe subscriber's location. The EPC network 105 may also comprise apublic data network (PDN) gateway 110 which serves as a gateway thatprovides access between the EPC network 105 and various data networks,e.g., other IP networks 113, an IMS core network 115, and the like. Thepublic data network gateway is also referred to as a PDN gateway, a PDNGW or a PGW.

The EPC network 105 may also include an application server (AS) 190. Inone embodiment, AS 190 may comprise a computing system, such ascomputing system 400 depicted in FIG. 4, and may be configured toprovide one or more functions for determining a base station to contactin order to page a user endpoint device, and for performing variousother operations in accordance with the present disclosure. Accordingly,the AS 190 may be connected directly or indirectly to any one or morenetwork elements of EPC network 105, and of the system 100 in general,that are configured to gather and forward network analytic information,such as signaling and traffic data, and other information and statisticsto AS 190 and to receive instructions from AS 190. AS 190 may be furtherconfigured to perform other functions such as those described below inconnection with the example method 200 of FIG. 2.

In one example, AS 190 may be deployed in a network operations center(NOC) of a cellular network operator, e.g., an entity operating the EPCnetwork 105, LTE network 101, access network 103, and so on. Due to therelatively large number of connections available between AS 190 andother network elements, none of the actual links to the applicationserver are shown in FIG. 1. Similarly, links between MME 107, SGW 108,broadcast server 194, eNodeBs 111 and 112, PDN gateway 110, and othercomponents of system 100 are also omitted for clarity.

It should be noted that the LTE network 101 is disclosed to provide avery brief summary description of the underlying framework that isutilized to provide a cellular or mobility service. Similarly, variousother networks 170 having respective application servers 175 can also bedeployed by a single service provider, e.g., a network service providerin providing a plurality of other services, e.g., telephony services,data services, multimedia delivery services, connected car services,connected premises services, and so on. For clarity reasons, theunderlying framework for these other networks 170 are not shown in FIG.1, but it is understood that a single network service provider iscapable of providing two or more of these services.

As such, the foregoing description of the system 100 is provided as anillustrative example only. In other words, the example of system 100 ismerely illustrative of one network configuration that is suitable forimplementing embodiments of the present disclosure. As such, otherlogical and/or physical arrangements for the system 100 may beimplemented in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, AS190, broadcast server 194 and/or other network components may bedeployed in core network 115 instead of being deployed within the EPCnetwork 105, or in other portions of system 100 that are not shown,while providing essentially the same functionality. For example, thefunctionality of AS 190 for a cellular service can be implemented viathe application server 120 having an analytical engine 121 utilizingdatabase 122 to store various data associated with the mobile trafficfor the cellular service. In fact, in one embodiment the applicationserver 120 is configured as a dedicated paging server for creatingpaging zones that are tailored to individual users of the network 100based on their historical mobility patterns.

In addition, although aspects of the present disclosure have beendiscussed above in the context of a long term evolution (LTE)-basedwireless network, examples of the present disclosure are not so limited.Thus, the teachings of the present disclosure can be applied to othertypes of wireless networks (e.g., 2G network, 3G network and the like),for modeling mobile traffic for providing a policy. In fact, the abovelisting of various services should not be deemed to be an exhaustivelisting of services. Thus, these and other modifications are allcontemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure defines, for each base station i and userendpoint device u in a network, a probability p(i, j, u) that the userendpoint device u responds to a paging request message from base stationj when the last-known base station to have been serving the userendpoint device u was the base station i. The probability p(i, j, u) canbe computed based on historical mobility patterns for the user endpointdevice u, for example by counting the number of paging responsesreceived by the base station j from the user endpoint device u when thelast-known location of the user endpoint device u was in the trackingarea served by the base station i, or TA(i). The probability p(i, j, u)could also be computed based on an estimated pattern of movement (e.g.,speed and direction) of the user endpoint device u and the geographicallocations of the base stations i and j.

The present disclosure also defines a paging zone, z(i, u) for the userendpoint device u when the last-known location of the user endpointdevice was served by the base station i. The paging zone z(i, u) may becreated or updated whenever the user endpoint device u is connected tothe network (e.g., not in idle mode) or whenever the user endpointdevice u moves to a new tracking area (e.g., via a tracking area update,or TAU, procedure).

To further aid in understanding the present disclosure, FIG. 2illustrates a flowchart of a first example method 200 for paging a userendpoint device based on the mobility patterns of the individual userassociated with the user endpoint device. In one example, the method 200may be performed by an MME such as the MME 107 illustrated in FIG. 1.However, in other examples, the method 200 may be performed by anotherdevice (e.g., the AS 190 or AS 120 illustrated in FIG. 1). As such, anyreferences in the discussion of the method 200 to MME 107 of FIG. 1 arenot intended to limit the means by which the method 200 may beperformed.

The method 200 begins in step 202. In step 204, the MME 107 receives arequest to page a specific user endpoint device, u. For instance,another user endpoint device may be attempting to call the user endpointdevice u.

In step 206, the MME determines the paging zone, z(i, u) for the userendpoint device u, based on the historical mobility patterns (e.g.,repeating, observed patterns of behavior, as opposed to isolatedmobility events such as simply the last-known location) of the userendpoint device u. In one example, the MME 107 constructs the pagingzone z(i, u). However, in another example, the MME 107 requests thepaging zone z(i, u) from another device, such as the AS 190 or AS 120.

The paging zone z(i, u) in which to broadcast a paging request messagefor a user endpoint device u that was last-known to have been located inthe tracking area for base station i in can be constructed in one ormore ways. In one example, for a user endpoint device u in the trackingarea TA(i), the size of the tracking area TA(i) is assumed to be N, andthe size of the expanded tracking area TA_list(i) (i.e., the number ofbase stations included) is assumed to be M. In this case, the basestations in the expanded tracking area TA_list(i) are arranged as anordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)}, so that:p(i,j ₁ ,u)≥p(i,j ₂ ,u)≥. . . ≥p(i,j _(M) ,u)  (EQN. 1)In other words, the base stations are arranged in order of descendingprobability that the user endpoint device u will respond to a pagingrequest message from the base station j when the last-known base stationto server the user endpoint device u was the base station i. Thus, thebase station j₁ to which the user endpoint device u is most likely torespond is listed first, and the base station j_(M) to which the userendpoint device u is least likely to respond is listed last.

Then, the base stations in the ordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)} areadded into the paging zone z(i, u) in order, starting with the firstbase station j₁ and continuing until the base station j_(k). In thiscase, the base station j_(k) is the first base station in the orderedset {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)} to meet the stopping criteria:k+1+[1−Σ_(l=0) ^(k+1) p(i,j _(l) ,u)]*N>k+[1−Σ_(l=0) ^(k) p(i,j _(l),u)]*N  (EQN. 2)In other words, the base station j_(k) is the first base station which,if added to the paging zone z(i, u), would generate more paging requestmessages in the network.

In another example, the paging zone z(i, u) can be constructed from theordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)} so that:Σ_(l=0) ^(k−1) p(i,j _(l) ,u)≤P≤Σ _(l=0) ^(k) p(i,j _(l) ,u)  (EQN. 3)or so that k=M. In the case of EQN. 3, P is a predefined threshold forpaging success rate. Thus, the base station j_(k) is the first basestation which, if added to the paging zone z(i, u), would result in apaging success rate that is at least as great as the predefinedthreshold P.

In some cases, the amount of historical data for the user endpointdevice u at base station i is too little to make statistical sense. Forinstance, the user endpoint device u may have never traveled to the areaserved by the base station i, or may have only been served by basestation i once or twice in the past. In this case, any calculation ofthe probability p(i, j, u) may not be accurate, and a different methodfor constructing the paging zone z(i, u) may yield better results.

In one example, if the historical data shows that the number of timesthe user endpoint device u has been served by the base station i is lessthan a predefined threshold, λ, then the paging zone z(i, u) may beconstructed using historical statistics from all user endpoint devicesin the network. In this case, the paging zone, now denoted as Z(i), isindependent of any one particular user endpoint device u. Furthermore,in this case, a probability p(i, j) is computed for each base station i.The probability p(i, j) is the probability that a user endpoint deviceresponds to a paging request message broadcast from the base station jwhen the last-known base station to serve the user endpoint device wasthe base station i. This probability p(i, j) can be computed based onthe historical data by counting the number of paging responses receivedfrom all user endpoint devices by the base station j, when thelast-known base stations to serve those user endpoint devices was thebase station i.

In one example, the paging zone Z(i) can then be created by assumingthat the size of tracking area TA(i) is N, and that the size of theexpanded tracking area TA_list(i) is M, as before. In this case, thebase stations in the expanded tracking area TA_list(i) are arranged asan ordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)}, so that:p(i,j ₁)≥p(i,j ₂)≥. . . ≥p(i,j _(M))  (EQN. 4)In other words, the base stations are arranged in order of descendingprobability that a user endpoint device will respond to a paging requestmessage from the base station j when the last-known base station toserver the user endpoint device was the base station i. Thus, the basestation j₁ to which a user endpoint device is most likely to respond islisted first, and the base station j_(M) to which a user endpoint deviceis least likely to respond is listed last.

Then, the base stations in the ordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)} areadded into the paging zone Z(i) in order, starting with the first basestation j₁ and continuing until the base station j_(k). In this case,the base station j_(k) is the first base station in the ordered set {j₁,j₂, . . . , j_(M)} to meet the stopping criteria:k+1+[1−Σ_(l=0hu k+1) p(i,j _(l))]*N>k+[1−Σ_(l=0) ^(k) p(i,j_(l))]*N  (EQN. 5)In other words, the base station j_(k) is the first base station which,if added to the paging zone Z(i, u), would generate more paging requestmessages in the network.

In another example, the paging zone Z(i) can be constructed from theordered set {j₁, j₂, . . . , j_(M)} so that:Σ_(l=0) ^(k−1) p(i,j _(l))≤P≤Σ _(l=0) ^(k) p(i,j _(l))  (EQN. 6)or so that k=M. In the case of EQN. 6, P is a predefined threshold forpaging success rate. Thus, the base station j_(k) is the first basestation which, if added to the paging zone Z(i), would result in apaging success rate that is at least as great as the predefinedthreshold P.

As mentioned above, construction of the paging zones z(i, u) and/or Z(i)may be performed by the MME 107 or by another device in the network,such as the AS 190 or the AS 120. Regardless of where the paging zonesz(i, u) and/or Z(i) are constructed, they will be communicated to theMME 107 so that the MME 107 can effectuate paging of the user endpointdevices according to the constructed paging zones z(i, u) and/or Z(i).The MME 107 may operate accordingly in either a passive or an activemode.

In the passive mode, the MME 107 may store paging zones Z(i) for allbase stations i, constructed according to the above disclosure, but maynot store paging zones z(i, u). That is, the MME 107 may not store userendpoint device-specific paging zones for all base stations i and alluser endpoint devices u, due to the volume of data that would need to bestored. However, the MME 107 may store the current paging zone z(u) fora given user endpoint device u, which is based on the user endpointdevice's last-known serving base station i at the present time. To dothis, it may be necessary to detect the changes in the last-knownserving base station for the user endpoint device u. Alternatively, itmay be only necessary to detect when the user endpoint device u becomesinactive in the area served by the base station i (i.e., the last-knownserving base station for the user endpoint device u). This is becausewhen the user endpoint device u is active, paging may not be needed.

In the active mode, the MME 107 may store no paging zone information.When a user endpoint device u is to be paged, the MME 107 may, at thistime, calculate or request the paging zone z(i,u) for the user endpointdevice u based on the last-known base station i to serve the userendpoint device u.

Referring back to FIG. 2, once the MME 107 has obtained the paging zonez(i, u) or Z(i) for the user endpoint device u, the method 200 proceedsto step 208. In step 208, the MME 107 sends an instruction to at leastone base station in the paging zone z(i, u) or Z(i) asking the at leastone base station to send a paging request message to the user endpointdevice u. In one example, the MME 107 may send the instruction to thefirst x base stations in the paging zone z(i, u) or Z(i) (e.g., the xbase stations having the highest probabilities p(i, j, u) or p(i, j)).In another example, the MME 107 may send the instruction to all of thebase stations in the paging zone z(i, u) or Z(i). FIG. 3A, for instance,illustrates an instruction (indicated by the darkened circles) beingsent to all base stations in the paging zone z(i, u) or Z(i) of the userendpoint device u.

In step 210, the MME 107 determines whether the user endpoint device uhas responded to the paging request message within a predefinedthreshold period of time (e.g., y seconds). If the MME 107 concludes instep 210 that the user endpoint device u has responded to the pagingrequest message within the threshold period of time, then the method 200ends in step 214.

If, however, the MME 107 concludes in step 210 that the user endpointdevice u has not responded to the paging request message within thethreshold period of time, then the method 200 proceeds to step 212. Instep 212, the MME 107 sends the instruction to send the paging requestmessage to all base stations in the user endpoint device's trackingarea, TA(i). Thus, on this attempt, the instruction is sent to all basestations serving the geographic area in which the last base stationknown to have served the user endpoint device u resides. FIG. 3B, forinstance, illustrates an instruction (indicated by the darkened circles)being sent to all base stations in the tracking area TA1 of the userendpoint device u of FIG. 3A.

The method 200 then ends in step 214.

Although not expressly specified above, one or more steps of the method200 may include a storing, displaying and/or outputting step as requiredfor a particular application. In other words, any data, records, fields,and/or intermediate results discussed in the method can be stored,displayed and/or outputted to another device as required for aparticular application. Furthermore, operations, steps, or blocks inFIG. 2 that recite a determining operation or involve a decision do notnecessarily require that both branches of the determining operation bepracticed. In other words, one of the branches of the determiningoperation can be deemed as an optional step. Furthermore, operations,steps, or blocks of the above described method(s) can be combined,separated, and/or performed in a different order from that describedabove, without departing from the examples of the present disclosure.

In further examples, the above-disclosed methods could be used toimplement differentiated paging schemes. For example, differentthreshold values P for the paging success rate of EQNs. 3 and 6 can beused to produce different paging zones, e.g., z(i, u, P₁) or z(i, u,P₂), where P₁>P₂. Then, the paging zone z(i, u, P₁) with the higherpaging success probability could be used when sending a paging requestmessage for a higher priority service (e.g., voice call via VoLTE). Thepaging zone z(i, u, P₂) with the lower paging success probability couldbe used when sending a paging request for a lower priority service.

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing devicespecifically programmed to perform the functions described herein. Forexample, any one or more components or devices illustrated in FIG. 1 ordescribed in connection with the method 200 may be implemented as thesystem 400. For instance, an application server or MME (such as might beused to perform the method 200) could be implemented as illustrated inFIG. 4.

As depicted in FIG. 4, the system 400 comprises a hardware processorelement 402, a memory 404, a module 405 for constructing a paging zone,and various input/output (I/O) devices 406.

The hardware processor 402 may comprise, for example, a microprocessor,a central processing unit (CPU), or the like. The memory 404 maycomprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), a disk drive, an optical drive, a magnetic drive, and/or aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) drive. The module 405 for constructing apaging zone may include circuitry and/or logic for performing specialpurpose functions relating to the tracking and constructing anindividual user's mobility patterns (e.g., repeating patterns ofbehavior with respect to mobility). The input/output devices 406 mayinclude, for example, a camera, a video camera, storage devices(including but not limited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard diskdrive or a compact disk drive), a receiver, a transmitter, a display, anoutput port, or a user input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, amouse, and the like).

Although only one processor element is shown, it should be noted thatthe general-purpose computer may employ a plurality of processorelements. Furthermore, although only one general-purpose computer isshown in the Figure, if the method(s) as discussed above is implementedin a distributed or parallel manner for a particular illustrativeexample, i.e., the steps of the above method(s) or the entire method(s)are implemented across multiple or parallel general-purpose computers,then the general-purpose computer of this Figure is intended torepresent each of those multiple general-purpose computers. Furthermore,one or more hardware processors can be utilized in supporting avirtualized or shared computing environment. The virtualized computingenvironment may support one or more virtual machines representingcomputers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualizedvirtual machines, hardware components such as hardware processors andcomputer-readable storage devices may be virtualized or logicallyrepresented.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable logicarray (PLA), including a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or astate machine deployed on a hardware device, a general purpose computeror any other hardware equivalents, e.g., computer readable instructionspertaining to the method(s) discussed above can be used to configure ahardware processor to perform the steps, functions and/or operations ofthe above disclosed method(s). In one example, instructions and data forthe present module or process 405 for constructing a paging zone (e.g.,a software program comprising computer-executable instructions) can beloaded into memory 404 and executed by hardware processor element 402 toimplement the steps, functions or operations as discussed above inconnection with the example method 200. Furthermore, when a hardwareprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations,” this couldinclude the hardware processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another hardware device orcomponent (e.g., a co-processor and the like) to perform the operations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructionsrelating to the above described method(s) can be perceived as aprogrammed processor or a specialized processor. As such, the presentmodule 405 for constructing a paging zone (including associated datastructures) of the present disclosure can be stored on a tangible orphysical (broadly non-transitory) computer-readable storage device ormedium, e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAMmemory, magnetic or optical drive, device or diskette and the like. Morespecifically, the computer-readable storage device may comprise anyphysical devices that provide the ability to store information such asdata and/or instructions to be accessed by a processor or a computingdevice such as a computer or an application server.

While various examples have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred example shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described example examples, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a processingsystem including at least one processor, a paging zone for a userendpoint device, wherein the paging zone includes a first base stationto page the user endpoint device, and wherein the first base station isincluded in the paging zone based at least in part on a historicalmobility pattern of the user endpoint device and on present networkconditions around the user endpoint device, wherein the paging zone isdetermined by: obtaining a first tracking area for the user endpointdevice, wherein the first tracking area is served by a second basestation that is a last base station to have served the user endpointdevice, and wherein a total number of times that the second base stationhas served the user endpoint device is less than a first predefinedthreshold; obtaining an expanded tracking area comprising the firsttracking area and any neighboring tracking areas that are immediatelyadjacent to the first tracking area; and arranging a plurality of basestations residing in the expanded tracking area in an ordered set thatlists the plurality of base stations in a descending order ofprobability that any user endpoint device connected to an access networkcomprising the plurality of base stations will respond to a pagingrequest message from a respective base station of the plurality of basestations when the second base station was the last base station to haveserved the any user endpoint device, wherein the first base station isincluded in the plurality of base stations; and sending, by theprocessing system, an instruction to the first base station, wherein theinstruction instructs the first base station to send a paging requestmessage to the user endpoint device.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe historical mobility pattern comprises an observed, repeated patternof behavior of the user endpoint device with respect to mobility.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the present network conditions around theuser endpoint device comprise observed present network radio frequency,network traffic, and network mobility conditions in a geographic areawithin a defined radius of the user endpoint device.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the probability is computed, for the respective basestation, by computing a number of paging responses received by therespective base station from all user endpoint devices connected to theaccess network when last-known locations of all of the user endpointdevices were in the first tracking area.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: adding the plurality of base stations from theordered set into the paging zone in the descending order, until astopping criterion is reached.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thestopping criterion is the addition of a third base station to the pagingzone, and wherein the addition of the third base station to the pagingzone first causes more paging request messages to be generated in theaccess network.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the stopping criterionis the addition of a third base station to the paging zone, and whereinthe addition of the third base station to the paging zone first causes apaging success rate to at least meet a predefined threshold.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein a value of the predefined threshold isvariable depending on a priority of a service associated with the pagingrequest message.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining that the user endpoint device has not responded to thepaging request message within a threshold period of time; and inresponse to the determining that the user endpoint device has notresponded, sending the instruction to the second base station.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the paging zone comprises a plurality of basestations including the first base station.
 11. A device comprising: aprocessing system including at least one processor; and acomputer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed bythe processing system, cause the processing system to performoperations, the operations comprising: determining a paging zone for auser endpoint device, wherein the paging zone includes a first basestation to page the user endpoint device, and wherein the first basestation is included in the paging zone based at least in part on ahistorical mobility pattern of the user endpoint device and on presentnetwork conditions around the user endpoint device, wherein the pagingzone is determined by: obtaining a first tracking area for the userendpoint device, wherein the first tracking area is served by a secondbase station that is a last base station to have served the userendpoint device, and wherein a total number of times that the secondbase station has served the user endpoint device is less than a firstpredefined threshold; obtaining an expanded tracking area comprising thefirst tracking area and any neighboring tracking areas that areimmediately adjacent to the first tracking area; and arranging aplurality of base stations residing in the expanded tracking area in anordered set that lists the plurality of base stations in a descendingorder of probability that any user endpoint device connected to anaccess network comprising the plurality of base stations will respond toa paging request message from a respective base station of the pluralityof base stations when the second base station was the last base stationto have served the any user endpoint device, wherein the first basestation is included in the plurality of base stations; and sending aninstruction to the first base station, wherein the instruction instructsthe first base station to send a paging request message to the userendpoint device.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the historicalmobility pattern comprises an observed, repeated pattern of behavior ofthe user endpoint device with respect to mobility.
 13. The device ofclaim 11, wherein the present network conditions around the userendpoint device comprise observed present network radio frequency,network traffic, and network mobility conditions in a geographic areawithin a defined radius of the user endpoint device.
 14. The device ofclaim 11, wherein the probability is computed, for the respective basestation, by computing a number of paging responses received by therespective base station from all user endpoint devices connected to theaccess network when last-known locations of all of the user endpointdevices were in the first tracking area.
 15. The device of claim 11, theoperations further comprising: adding the plurality of base stationsfrom the ordered set into the paging zone in the descending order, untila stopping criterion is reached.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein thestopping criterion is the addition of a third base station to the pagingzone, and wherein the addition of the third base station to the pagingzone first causes more paging request messages to be generated in theaccess network.
 17. The device of claim 15, wherein the stoppingcriterion is the addition of a third base station to the paging zone,and wherein the addition of the third base station to the paging zonefirst causes a paging success rate to at least meet a predefinedthreshold.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein a value of the predefinedthreshold is variable depending on a priority of a service associatedwith the paging request message.
 19. The device of claim 11, theoperations further comprising: determining that the user endpoint devicehas not responded to the paging request message within a thresholdperiod of time; and in response to the determining that the userendpoint device has not responded, sending the instruction to the secondbase station.
 20. An apparatus comprising: a processing system includingat least one processor for determining a paging zone for a user endpointdevice, wherein the paging zone includes a first base station to pagethe user endpoint device, and wherein the first base station is includedin the paging zone based at least in part on a historical mobilitypattern of the user endpoint device and on present network conditionsaround the user endpoint device, wherein the paging zone is determinedby: obtaining a first tracking area for the user endpoint device,wherein the first tracking area is served by a second base station thatis a last base station to have served the user endpoint device, andwherein a total number of times that the second base station has servedthe user endpoint device is less than a first predefined threshold;obtaining an expanded tracking area comprising the first tracking areaand any neighboring tracking areas that are immediately adjacent to thefirst tracking area; and arranging a plurality of base stations residingin the expanded tracking area in an ordered set that lists the pluralityof base stations in a descending order of probability that any userendpoint device connected to an access network comprising the pluralityof base stations will respond to a paging request message from arespective base station of the plurality of base stations when thesecond base station was the last base station to have served the anyuser endpoint device, wherein the first base station is included in theplurality of base stations; and an output device for sending aninstruction to the first base station, wherein the instruction instructsthe first base station to send a paging request message to the userendpoint device.